RADARBOJONEGORO.JAWAPOS.COM – In the 2015/2016 season, no one thought that a non-elite team like Leicester City could disrupt the competition of European giants such as Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, and so on. Moreover, they won their first Premier League (English League) trophy. However, after the death of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha as club owner and Claudio Ranieri as coach, The Foxes (nicknamed Leicester City) were unable to repeat this miracle.
In fact, gradually Leicester City slipped back to mid-table. In fact, bottom board. At its peak, The Foxes were relegated back to the EFL Championship (second division English League) in the 2022-2023 season after ending the season in 18th place, only two points different from Everton.
A year later, Leicester fans can finally be happy again. Not only is Leicester City still at the top of the EFL Championship with two games remaining, they have automatically been promoted back to the Premier League without having to undergo a playoff, which is aimed at teams that finish in positions three to six.
The certainty of Leicester City’s championship came from two separate matches. First, The Foxes successfully beat Southampton 5-0 at their own home, King Power Stadium (24/4). Then, their closest rivals, Leeds United, were overthrown by Queens Park Rangers (QPR) when they visited Loftus Road last morning (27/04).
With these results, Leeds is actually only four points behind The Foxes in the standings. However, Leeds have played one more game than The Foxes, so they only have one game remaining and cannot catch up.
In fact, Leicester also has another rival, namely Ipswich Town, which has played one match less than Leicester. However, even though Ipswich can overtake Leicester at the end of the season, Leicester can still automatically move up by finishing second in the standings, and it is no longer possible for Leeds to overtake The Foxes.
Leicester’s burden to close the 2023/2024 season with a Championship trophy was also lightened by their last two matches, namely against mid-table team Preston North End (30/4) and bottom team Blackburn Rovers (4/5). Meanwhile, Ipswich Town still have to face fellow top teams Hull City (28/4) and Coventry City (1/5), as well as a team fighting to avoid relegation to League One (English League third division), Huddersfield Town (4/ 5).
The current Leicester City coach, Enzo Maresca, said he was proud that his team’s hard work had paid off. “I am proud that our hard work has resulted in promotion to the Premier League. “Our achievement was not easy, because there are many strong teams in this league,” he said in the team’s official statement.
Of course, for Enzo, the work is still not finished because there is still the Championship trophy in sight. “This moment is great and worth celebrating, but we still have to work hard. “We want to finish the season as champions and lift the trophy at home in the last match,” explained Enzo.
Currently, Leicester, Leeds and Ipswich are the remaining teams in the race to win the Championship. On the other hand, Leeds and Ipswich can still be thrown into the promotion playoff zone along with Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City and Hull City.
Meanwhile, Rotherham United has been confirmed to be relegated to League One, and at least six teams are fighting to avoid relegation, namely Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town. On the Premier League side, Sheffield United has been confirmed as dropping down to the Championship, and Luton Town, Nottingham Forest and Burnley are fighting to stay in the top flight. (edo/bgs)